Passing the exam can remove days from the sentence; understanding applies to prisoners who already had a higher education degree
The 3rd Section of the ruling decided that prisoners can reduce the time they serve their sentence by passing the Enem (National High School Exam), even when they already had a higher education diploma before entering the prison system. The judgment standardizes the understanding of the Court’s criminal groups on the so-called remission through study. Read the decision (PDF — 80 kB).
The case was tried in the . The acronym means embargos of divergence in special appeal, a type of appeal used to standardize different decisions within the STJ. The discussion was taken to the 3rd Section because there was a difference between the 5th Panel and the 6th Panel, the Court’s 2 criminal panels.
The 6th Panel had denied the benefit on the grounds that a prisoner with completed higher education would not demonstrate the acquisition of new knowledge by passing the Enem. The 5th Panel had the opposite understanding: that previous training does not prevent redemption.
When resolving the divergence, the 3rd Section established the understanding that the prisoner’s prior education cannot be used to prevent the reduction of the sentence, because this restriction is not provided for in the (Penal Execution Law).
The rapporteur, minister Ribeiro Dantas, stated that passing the Enem serves as an objective criterion to prove self-study, even if the prisoner is not enrolled in formal teaching activities within the prison.
According to the minister, study reimbursement is not just used to reward the acquisition of new knowledge. It also seeks to encourage discipline, routine and resocialization during the sentence.
What is redemption
Remission of sentence allows the prisoner to reduce part of the time spent serving the sentence for work or study. In the case of remission through study, the Penal Execution Law establishes the reduction of 1 day of sentence for every 12 hours of school attendance, divided into at least 3 days.
The STJ already admitted the possibility of redemption for prisoners who study on their own and pass national exams. The discussion now was whether the benefit could also be granted to those who already had a higher education degree before prison.
No automatic addition
The decision does not mean that every prisoner approved in the Enem will automatically have the same reduction. The calculation must be made by the criminal enforcement court.
The STJ also differentiated the basic redemption from the increase provided for in the Criminal Execution Law for those who complete an educational stage during prison. If the prisoner had already completed that stage before being detained, this may prevent the increase, but does not remove the right to a basic reduction in the sentence for studying.
